YREKA – Yreka Police Department (YPD) officers responded to Fairchild Medical Center on March 26 to make contact with an alleged victim and take a report that YPD Lt. Dave Gamache described as “out of the ordinary.”

According to Gamache, the alleged victim, a 27-year-old female of Yreka, reported to officers that she was held captive in a house in the 800 block of South Street for three days. She identified her captor as Dean Michael Knight, 25, of Yreka, who was recently released from parole early.

She made the accusation that Knight beat and tortured her, and would not allow her to leave Gamache said the woman told officers she was associated with Knight, but she was not his girlfriend and she did not reside at his residence where the incident allegedly occurred. Rather, she told officers that he was in the process of moving to a new residence and he hired her to clean his house prior to moving.

According to Gamache, the woman reported that she managed to escape, although she believed a second female was still in the residence.

YPD prepared a search warrant for Knight’s residence and it was signed Wednesday morning.

Based on the alleged victim’s report, Gamache said officers had reason to believe Knight was under the influence of drugs and extremely dangerous. YPD partnered with the Siskiyou County Interagency Narcotics Task Force and the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office special rescue team and prepared to take Knight into custody.

Officials apprehended Knight while he was walking along the roadway near his home.

When they searched his home, Gamache confirmed there were no other women in the house.

He noted officers discovered items that the victim claimed Knight had used to beat her, such as a large piece of fire wood. The items were bagged for evidence.

Knight was booked into the Siskiyou County Jail on felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, threatening to commit a crime with the intent to terrorize and torture. He is being held on $25,000 bail.

“I have been with the Yreka Police Department for 20 years and I have only seen cases like this once or twice,” said Gamache. “It is a little unusual but things like this do happen in Yreka from time to time.”

Gamache noted that Knight was recently released early from state parole following a prison commitment.

Page 2 of 2 - “His parole release date was not supposed to be until 2015,” said Gamache.

He explained that officers appeared at Knight’s residence for a parole search on March 26 – while the victim was still inside the house.

The officers were not granted access to the inside of the house upon receiving word that Knight was released from parole a couple of days prior to their visit.

At print time, local officials were unable to confirm the reason Knight was released early from parole.

The Daily News will provide updates on this case as it unfolds.

Knight is scheduled to appear in the Siskiyou County Superior Court today for his arraignment.